Mentoring young black men is so fulfilling. Well, I mentor boys, girls, young men and young women from all ethnicities but special attention needs to be diverted to the black community. So I make it an “intention” to carve out time with my boys from the Paint Branch High School football team in Silver Spring, MD. This weekend was no different as I scooped up Amede, Garvin and Alfonse and headed to Great Falls Park to hike within the environs of Mother Nature. At 17 and headed to college, guidance in today’s America is far too important for each of them. From cultural awareness and police interaction to respecting women and learning about plant-based nutrition for their sports careers, the conversations are always educational. And being that I’m an active 45-year oldFit Father there is nothing they can do that I can’t do physically. Especially running! Most times I’m leading the pack since a healthy and fit lifestyle is what I’m known for. So I encourage more father figures, role models and potential mentors to step up to the plate and help our young men as often and consistently as possible. They need us!

Fit Fathers’ founder Kimatni D. Rawlins mentors numerous kids and teens across the country to help them face the complexities of society with simple but strategic solutions. To kick off Black History Month at the Washington Auto Show he brought a few football mentees from his daughter’s high school — Paint Branch in Silver, Spring — to the ART-of-Motion display so they could see how the fruits of their labor is manifested! Amede and Alphonse are smart, kind, hardworking, and passionate. So of course we have to do more to continuously motivate and direct our young men and women. They are the country’s future leaders!